The Brooklyn Papers / Jori Klein

Pass the sangria: A sampling of the tapas selections at new Zipi Zape restaurant in Williamsburg feature a sardine, a chorus line of shrimp and a quail egg.

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My teenage daughter left for camp on Sunday. We’ll miss her, but what a pleasure for my husband and I to be alone again. To celebrate our independence we went to Zipi Zape, the new tapas restaurant in Williamsburg.

The laughter of the crowd around Zipi Zape’s bar could be heard half-a-block away. When we entered around 9 pm, locals nibbled on tapas and downed beer and sangria. A guitar and violin duo filled the room with melancholy Spanish music that proved irresistible to one patron. His voice, rich with emotion, accompanied the musicians. Hoots and laughter followed.

We settled into a comfortable booth in the small dining area. The room hasn’t changed much since April, when I visited the restaurant in its previous life, as Nar Meze Bar, a Turkish tapas eatery that lasted less than a year.

The owners have added refrigerated cases, like those you see in sushi restaurants, behind the bar where deep terracotta serving dishes hold jewel-like rows of red and olive tapas. The traditional Spanish appetizers, known as "antojito" or little whims, make an enticing welcome. The dining room’s walls are a combination of distressed tin and warm gold paint - a color that reflects the vibrant dishes of chef Diego Gonzalez.

Opened in June, Zipi Zape, named after Spanish cartoon twins, is a collaboration between twins Ayse Telgeren and Asu Whiteman, two of the former partners in Allioli, a tapas restaurant nearby, and Gonzalez, who was Allioli’s chef. The trio offers tapas individually or in "tasting menus" of five or 10. It’s a great concept that allows diners to snack cheap on a piece or two, or create a complex, multi-plate dinner.

Seeing those plates of gorgeous ingredients arranged on the table was almost as exciting as the feast itself. A dish of huge shrimp, their bright, pink jackets studded with grains of coarse sea salt, sat beside pale green peppers and tiny quail eggs with buttery centers; ruby red peppers that oozed creamy tuna salad edged a plate of gray Portuguese sardines. Discs of wine-scented pates smeared over chewy bread neared plates of salty ham croquettes suspended in béchamel that were dipped in spicy, rose-tinted romesco sauce.

With all that succulent food, order the white sangria or a glass of Spanish wine from the carefully edited wine list. Either would be an improvement on the house cocktails that are too prissy to stand up to the assertive flavors of the tapas.

Two large cloves of unadorned, preserved garlic are house freebies. They’re surprisingly mild and crisp like miniature ivory pickles, and make a playful lead-in to the spicier dishes. We began with the quail eggs, which resembled tiny chicken eggs, paired with pungent, pickled green peppers. The crunchy peppers played up the creaminess of the eggs.

We loved the huge shrimp - served four to a plate atop thick slices of lemon - that tasted of the grill. There was monkfish liver with a delicate flavor, somewhat like veal, that were as unctuous as butter. Rivera pairs the liver with a fine dice of cucumber and red onion and piles the mix atop thick slices of country bread. It’s superb.

Ham is an important ingredient in Spanish cooking, and Rivera offers plenty of it in intriguing combinations. Batons of bechamel (a mild white sauce) studded with salty Serrano ham then fried, had us sighing with pleasure. Salty and creamy with a brittle crust, they were delectable on their own, but even better dunked in the mildly garlicky, tomato romesco sauce thickened with ground almonds.

Unusually moist roast loin of pork topped a stew of chopped green peppers slow-cooked in white wine. A Portuguese sardine served on a slice of coarse bread, was almost as rich as the fabulous, cognac-laced chicken liver pate. And a dish of sharp-yet-mild Manchego cheese calmed the saltiness of anchovies.

The only dish that disappointed us was the roasted red peppers filled with a mayonnaise-heavy tuna salad. The dish was fine, but lacked the drama of the other offerings.

Telegren says dessert is rarely served in tapas bars. Right now they’re offering Manchego cheese paired with slices of tart apple. A little quince paste adds a honeyish note to the dish. It’s a fitting way to end the meal, although something sweet wouldn’t hurt. Rivera will soon add single servings of creme caramel, flan and seasonal fruit compotes.

We left Zipi Zape high on wine with our mouths tingling from garlic. We’ll visit again while our daughter is away and stay late into the evening. One month of unencumbered adulthood is a gift that we plan to use wisely.

Zipi Zape, 152 Metropolitan Ave. at Berry Street in Williamsburg accepts Visa and MasterCard. Tapas prices: $1-$14. The restaurant is open for dinner Tuesdays through Sundays. Closed Mondays. For reservations, call (718) 599-3027.

©2004 Community Newspaper Group